Creating Opportunities for Physical Activity in Clinton County

• Renovated and retrofitted unused outdoor spaces for public use, with a total of 28 indoor and outdoor pickleball courts and 2 soccer golf courses built or upgraded (exceeding its goal of 10 spaces for public use); and
• Established a summer Fitness in the Parks program in five municipalities (one town short of its original goal of six) to offer youth age-appropriate physical activity opportunities such as archery, karate, hip-hop dance, and yoga.

Organized pickleball and soccer golf leagues are very active in and around the city of Plattsburgh and the demand is growing. During the course of this project, Clinton County Parks and Recreation staff maintained the renovated courts, as well as coordinated organized leagues to increase their use by residents. Agreements have since been established with the towns to provide permanent oversight and maintenance of the courts. One of the soccer golf courses also has adopted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s nutrition snack guidelines to offer healthier, more nutritious foods and beverages at its concession stands.

The Fitness in the Parks program was less successful. CVPH fell short of its goal to recruit municipalities for participation in the Fitness in the Parks program by one town; it lacked the staff capacity for labor-intensive community outreach specifically for the program. During the project’s first year, 738 youth registered for the Fitness in the Parks programs, with less than 60% participation. During the second year of the grant project, CVPH gave all Clinton County municipalities an opportunity to apply for program support funding to boost participation in the program. Seven towns from small communities throughout the county were chosen and a total of 545 youth participated in 2017. Actual attendance of youth who registered for the Fitness in the Parks program also continued to be an issue during the second year of the grant. Local recreation staff has suggested that instituting a small registration fee in the future would increase registrants’ commitment to attend, although that has to be weighed against the disincentive to register. Sustainability for the Fitness in the Parks program is uncertain; it will be determined by the availability of support funds being generated by CVPH, so programming has yet to be made permanent.

Co-Funding and Additional Funds Leveraged: $25,353 was contributed through various local private and public sources.